Day 11: Abel Tasmen Part 1 of 4 (8 miles)

After breakfast, we drove to the Abel Tasmen information center to figure out our plans for the backpacking trip. We decided to start the trip a day early since we didn’t have any other plans for the day. We quickly gathered supplies and had a fast grilled cheese and tomato soup lunch before heading to the trail.

Loading up on carbs and protein for the trip

The Abel Tasmen runs alongside the coast so it wasn’t difficult. They say people should complete the track between 3-5 days but we ended up having to do the entire track (40 ish miles) in 2.5 days. More on that to come later.

The first part of the track was supposed to take 4 hours but we somehow managed to do it in 2. What a great way to start! The boys walked in front, as usual, but that gave Jessi and I some girl/quiet time. It started getting dark towards the end of the hike, but the moon helped us find our way.

Side story: I was walking in front of Jessi when we came across a narrow path on the track. It was dark and I needed to step over a small rock so I grabbed onto a branch that was sticking out on the side. Uhh turns out it wasn’t really a branch but a loose tree. The tree came crumbing down and thankfully I moved out of the way quickly. I feared that the tree was going to hit Jessi but she backed up as soon as she heard the snap. I escaped with a cut on my hand, but that’s okay it left a badass scar! We stopped there for a good 5 minutes just laughing at the situation we were in.

We camped at Anchorage for the first night. Words really can’t describe how beautiful this campsite was. I’ve literally been staring at my screen for a good amount of time trying to describe this.

Somehow we were standing an equivalent distance from each other. Photo by Cody GrandPreSuch a gorgeous eerie picture captured by Cody GrandPreSunrise before low tide

The pictures don’t do it justice. As soon our feet touched the sand, Jessi and I looked up and were instantly taken back. I’m pretty sure I yelled, “Holy shit…oh my god…so beautiful!” It was like a little secret cove with crystal blue untouched waters. After we set up camp, the four of us walked over to the beach. Adam and Cody were testing out some night photography while Jessi and I zoned watching the small waves crash by our feet. The surroundings was so still and peaceful that for a moment we all forgot how cold we were. It was such a clear and dark night that we could see the Milky Way by 7 pm. We had an early night since we had to wake up at 5am the next morning to pass through the low tides. Everything about this night was perfect. I even stayed warm that night.